Maiden Mother and Crone

In Celtic mythology, there is a goddess that is represented in three aspects: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. While I do not necessarily believe in the Celtic pantheon, I have found the concept of the triple goddess fascinating - particularly because she can also be used as a metaphor to describe the major phases in my life.

I am a Mother who just discovered she is no longer a Maiden.

I used to believe that hormones were simply an excuse that cranky women blamed their bad moods on - and mid-life crisis were a Hollywood fantasy. Imagine my surprise now that I am a hormonal woman experiencing a mid-life crisis.

Who knew?

Admittedly, you would have thought my pregnancy would have raised a red flag regarding this transition, but some of us require the spiritual equivalent of a two-by-four to the back of the head. Oddly enough, it was not the birth of my son, but rather the purchase of my cell phone, that triggered this particular mid-life revelation.

Let me start by saying: I am a technology geek. I AM THAT PERSON WHO ACTUALLY READS THE MANUAL TO THEIR DVD and figures out what every button on the digital camera is for. But, when I purchased my cell phone, I wanted the cell phone that was cheap, durable, and came with a very practical clock display on the outside so it could double as a watch (which is important, since most of my watches seem to meet a violent and untimely demise). I didn't care about the camera, text messaging, or surfing the Internet.

In fact, I actually have an increasing respect for my old telephone. The one with the cord holding it to the wall. It was much easier to ignore. If I was at a movie theatre, the phone rang, harmlessly, in an empty house. Now, even if I put my cell phone on silent, it is very difficult to ignore when my hip begins vibrating violently.

Just like that, I realized I was no longer a Maiden.

But I find great promise in the triple goddess model of life. Instead of "over the hill" middle-age leading to a depressing and decrepit old age, the Celtic mythology, much like Asian philosophies, implies that these transitions are just that: transitions. As a Mother, you gain wrinkles, but you also have many more experiences under your belt - and those experiences allow you to interpret the world differently. Understanding the triple goddess allows me to accept my wrinkles with humor, and my mistakes with humility.

It is also comforting to realize that, according to the model of the triple goddess, the transition from Mother to Crone should lead down a road wherein the elderly are respected repositories of knowledge and wisdom. I like this version much better than the American version - wherein the elderly are hard-of-hearing denizens of Wal-Mart who should have their driver's license confiscated.

I am finally a Mother who realizes she is a Mother. Kid and all.